A Sacramento, California jury awarded $1.1 million to the family of a 79 year old woman who died only seven months after being placed in nursing home whose care for her was described as “malicious, oppressive and fraudulent.” Unfortunately, nursing home abuse and elder care abuse such as this occur in nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the country every day.

Jury finds nursing home conduct malicious, oppressive and fraudulent

This elder care abuse lawsuit involves 79 year old senior citizen Francis Tanner who was a resident at an Auburn, California nursing home run by Colonial Healthcare and its parent company, Horizon West. Although Tanner had mild dementia, she was known as “spirited and mobile.” However, she fell and broke her hip shortly after being placed there and died from infected bedsores less than seven months later. Her family hired a California attorney familiar with elder abuse cases and filed a lawsuit against the companies.

Their attorney was able to prove to the jury that Colonial – which recently changed its name to Hilltop Manor – was chronically understaffed, kept poor medical documentation and put profits over the welfare of their patients. In fact, the State of California sought to revoke Colonial's license last year, but ended up settling with the company if it changed its practices.

After deliberating for only two days, the jury awarded Tanner's family $1.1 million in damages for Tanner's pain and suffering and for her daughter's loss of companionship. The jury also decided that punitive damages – those meant to punish a defendant whose conduct is egregious – were warranted for the nursing home's malicious, oppressive and fraudulent conduct. Those have yet to be decided.

Elder abuse a common occurrence

Elder abuse lawyers say that elder abuse is a common occurrence in this country and that it can consist of physical abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, neglect and abandonment. If your loved one has been the victim of elder abuse, contact an experienced elder law lawyer in your state to find out what recourse is available to you.